Title

:
BridgingtheGapfortheGreatMarbleMaze
Challenge

Subject
ScienceStructures&Mechanisms

PrescribedLearningOutcomes
See
Assessment
belowtoselectlearning
outcomeswhichareappropriatetoassessfor
aculminatingtaskalignedtothecontent
whichhasbeencoveredintheUnit.

Purpose
ThisisaculminatingUnittaskintheformofa
collaborativedesignprojectintroducedvia
Skype,completedoveraseriesofclasses,
filmed,andthensharedandreflectedupon
againviaSkype.

LessonLength
Grade
Variable,dependingonthelevelof
Seven
collaborationteacherschooseandhowmany
periodstheyhaveavailableforafinaltask.
Assumingaperiodlengthof50minutes,
studentsshouldbegivenatleast6periodsto
engagedeeplywithallphasesofthisdesign
challenge.
PriorLearningAssumed
LessonObjectives
Studentshavecompletedastructural Studentswillbeableto:
Scienceunitcoveringconceptssuch
identifystructuresandstructural
as:
conceptswithinmarblerunexamples
strength,
collaboratewithateamtodesigntheir
stability,
ownmarblerun
materialproperties,
designandconstructatleastone
structuralforces,and
effectivebridgeoverwaterandland
bridges
aspartoftheirmarblerun
PriorTeacherActivityRequired
performcalculationsasdeterminedby
SignupforaSkypeintheClassroom
theteacher,ie.determiningthefactor
account
ofsafety,orstrengthtomassratiofor
Contact
thefolksfromthe
Global
oneofthesebridges
SchoolProject
inVenezuelatoget
filmandeditavideooftheirfinal
connected,addasaSkypecontact,
design
andsetupadatetosharevideosof
sharevideoandreflectionwithThe
completedprojectsortoSkypeliveif
GlobalClassroomviaSkype
timezonesallow
Collaboratewithotherclassesas
desired(ie.aGrade3classworking
ontheirstructuresunit,anotherGrade
7classwithintheschoolorthecity,
etc.)


Timing
50100minutes
(12periods)

Hook/Lesson(s)Starter/Introduction/Review
Show
this
videoofamarblerundesignedwithsimple,
recycled/recyclablematerials
Askstudentswhatsuchamazemighthavetodowithstructures
andthespecifictopicstheyvestudied(materialproperties,
structuralforces)
Askstudentstoidentifyanybridgesinthemarblerun
couldthesebridgestructuresbebuiltoverwater?land?
whatwouldneedtobechangedinordertoaccommodate
bothkindsofbridges?
displaytheMarbleRunChallengeSkype
lessonpage
andpresent
the
MarbleRunChallenge
(provide
translation
,whereneeded)
distributeorprojectthedesigncriteria(atleastoneoftheirbridges
willberequiredtobetestedaccordingtotheBridgingtheGap
designinvestigationp.180181ofNelsonScience&Technology7
text(seeimage),teamrequirements,andtimeline
cocreateSuccessCriteriaanddraftadocumentaskingclarifying
questionsofTheGlobalClassroom,whereneeded
sharequestiondocumentviaSkypechattooloranother
agreeduponmethodbetweenteachers

100200
minutes
(24periods)

Body
Overthecourseofseveralperiods,studentteamsshouldcompletethe
following:
meetwithcollaborativeteamstocreatedesignschematicincluding
listofmaterials,blueprint,teamresponsibilities,andtimelines
(receiveteacherapprovalandgathermaterials)
refertoschematicsandconstructmarblerunanddocumentthe
variouscreativedesignsandseparatesectionsusingphotographs,
videos,andtext
revise,rebuild,anddocumentthroughouttheconstructionprocess
usingBridgingtheGapDesignInvestigationquestionsasaguide
deviseandtestthestrengthandstabilityofthemarbleruns
bridgesundervariousconditions
redesignandimproveasdesired
contributetoDesignJournalasdiscoveries,challenges,and
successesaremade
selectingfrom#58,measureandcalculatestructuralloads
inaccordancewiththedirectionoftheteacher

150250
minutes
(35periods)

Closure/Conclusion
filmthemarblerunofthefinaldesign,gatheringdataie.thetimeit
takesthemarbletocompletethecourse,thetotallengthoftherun,
theaveragespeedofthemarble,theangleoftheslopes,etc.as
directedbytheteacher
editthevideoandaddalinktotheDesignJournal(perhapsasan

Assessment

onlinedocumentorblogpost,orasacollageofphotographsof
notebookentriesandconstructionimages)tocreateacomplete
ChallengeEntryforeachteam
shareeachChallengeEntrywithTheGlobalClassroomandview
theirentries
participateinaclasstoclassSkypecallwithTheGlobalClassroom
andreflectonwhatwaslearned

AsafinalpieceoftheirDesignJournal,eachteammembershould
completeanindividualandpeerassessment.TheChallengeEntrycan
thenbecomparedagainsttheteamrolesdividedinthepreliminary
planningstageandthisassessmenttoanalyzeeachteammembers
contributiontothefinalproject.

Teachersmayselectfromthefollowingprovincial(Ontario)
Science
criteria
aspossibleassessmentopportunities,assigningalevelbetween1(with
difficulty)and4(withgreateffectiveness)basedonstudents
demonstrationofthefollowinglearningoutcomes:

OverallExpectations
2.designandconstructavarietyofstructures,andinvestigatethe
relationshipbetweenthedesignandfunctionofthesestructuresandthe
forcesthatactonthem
3.demonstrateanunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenstructural
formsandtheforcesthatactonandwithinthem.

SpecificExpectations
2.1followestablishedsafetyproceduresforusingtoolsandhandling
materials
2.2design,construct,andusephysicalmodelstoinvestigatetheeffectsof
variousforcesonstructures
2.3investigatethefactorsthatdeterminetheabilityofastructureto
supportaload(e.g.,theweightofthestructureitselfthemagnitudeofthe
externalloadsitwillneedtosupportthestrengthofthematerialsusedto
buildit)
2.4usetechnologicalproblemsolvingskills(seetablebelow)todetermine
themostefficientwayforastructure(e.g.,abridge)tosupportagiven
load
2.6useappropriatescienceandtechnologyvocabulary,inoralandwritten
communication
2.7useavarietyofforms(e.g.,oral,written,graphic,multimedia)to
communicatewithdifferentaudiencesandforavarietyofpurposes(e.g.,
useagraphicorganizertoshowthestepstakenindesigningandmakinga
product)

3.4distinguishbetweenexternalforces(e.g.,wind,gravity,earthquakes)
andinternalforces(tension,compression,shear,andtorsion)actingona

structure
3.6identifyanddescribefactorsthatcancauseastructuretofail(e.g.,bad
design,faultyconstruction,foundationfailure,extraordinaryloads)
3.7identifythefactors(e.g.,propertiesofthematerialastheyrelatetothe
product,availability,costsofshipping,aestheticappeal,disposal)that
determinethesuitabilityofmaterialsforuseinmanufacturingaproduct
(e.g.,arunningshoe)

Teachersmayalsowishtousethefollowingcontinuumtoidentifythelevel
oftechnologicalproblemsolvingskillsexhibitedbyeachdesignteamasa
whole,orbytheindividualmembers:

Additionally,LearningSkillscanbeassessedusingthefollowingcriteria

outlineinOntarios
GrowingSuccess
document:

Resourcesand
equipment
requiredfor
lesson

technologydeviceswiththecapabilitytoview,film,andupload
YouTubevideosforthewholeclass
recycled/recyclablebuildingmaterialsandfasteners
paperorelectroniccopyofthedesigncriteria
marblesorsmalltoycars
water,sand,andvariouscontainerstoholdthese
massbalanceorscale
timerormeasuringtape,asrequired